What better way to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas than with two blood-curdling chillers – The Birds and The Shining – playing this weekend at the Castro? Elsewhere, Paul McCartney: The Love We Make, which follows the onetime Beatle around New York in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, arrives Friday at the Roxie Theater.1. The BirdsWhere:Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., 415-621-6120When: Dec. 16

Fascinated by film noir? Head to the Roxie this week for a celebration of TV's greatest contributions to the genre, including shows and shorts directed a half-century ago by some of the greatest directors of our time, including Robert Altman, Sidney Lumet and Alfred Hitchcock. Elsewhere:1. We Were HereWhere:Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., 415-621-6120When: All Week

Can you feel the electricity in the air, the faint buzz of anticipation gradually building to a deafening roar? That's right – the world is just a week away from the arrival of Happy Madison's Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star, directed by Tom Brady (no, not that one) and produced by Adam Sandler, who charitably prolongs the careers of former SNL co-stars with his endless reserve of fart jokes. Until then, try to contain your excitement with any of these fine offerings, now showing at an indie theater near you.1. Bellflower

About as sunny as it sounds, Christopher Smith's grim fairy tale Black Deathfinds a 14th-century knight (Sean Bean, of HBO's Game of Thrones) and his band of mirthless mercenaries traveling the European countryside in search of a rumored necromancer. Reluctantly joining them for the journey is Osmund, a young monk played by The Other Boleyn Girl's Eddie Redmayne, who finds their violent brand of piety less than Christian. Surrounded by the devastation wrought by the onset of the bubonic plague, in a world seemingly forsaken by God, will Osmund allow himself to be seduced by pagans – led by Carice von Houten's alluring high priestess – whose village remains curiously unaffected by pestilence?

Looking to take refuge from the weekend traffic in the air-conditioned confines of a darkened theater? Check out the best of this summer's indie fare – including Bride Flight, Twin Sisters director Ben Sombogaart's award-winning epic romance – now playing at San Francisco's venerable arthouse cinemas, and enjoy your Fourth of July safely, merrily and with a hefty helping of holiday BBQ.1. Page One: Inside the New York TimesWhere:Bridge Theatre, 3010 Geary Blvd., 415-751-3213When: All Week

With IndieFest's Another Hole in the Head Festival now scarring horror enthusiasts at the Roxie, and the 35th annual International LGBT Festival just around the corner, there's no shortage of intriguing options for Bay Area moviegoers in search of an evening's entertainment. Among this week's best:1. Midnight in Paris

During a time when single-screen theaters have become dinosaurs, hopelessly outnumbered by overstuffed cineplexes where first-run features crowd shoebox-sized auditoriums, the Castro Theatre is a refreshing relic, a movie palace that treats films as works of art. As such, it is the only venue in San Francisco equipped to project in high-resolution 70-millimeter format, giving local cinephiles an increasingly rare opportunity to see big-screen classics like Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo and David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia as they were originally intended.

Cinematic pioneer, detached voyeur, master of suspense. Alfred Hitchcock's singular vision -- which earned him much respect and accolades, yet never an Oscar for best director -- was in full effect in such classics like Psycho, The Birds, and North by Northwest. But other films that displayed a knack for experiment and playfulness often get overlooked by the casual moviegoer. To remedy that, The Castro Theatre is presenting six days of the master's undersung gems, starting tomorrow, which will include the "one-take" wonder Rope, the often-mimicked The Lady Vanishes (we're looking at you, Flightplan), and the witty Lifeboat, which was set entirely on... um, a lifeboat...

Welcome, dear friends, to the first Indie Theater Roundup ever (partially) written and published from 30,000 feet above – hold on, let me check – Michigan! Will the wonders of technology ever cease to amaze? Let us all take a moment of silence to thank Richard Branson for this thrilling innovation to modern flight, then turn our attention to the matters at hand: movies! You want 'em, and the city's indie theaters have 'em. Check these out: